Typically, the prior art method of forming a staple was to cut the wire by a cutoff punch to the desired length, and pushing the wire through a set of fixed dies. The wire was caused to bend and scrape between the non-movable rigid ridged surfaces of the die and a relatively straight walled pusher punch. This causes slivers or flakes of wire material to scrape loose and be deposited unto the legs of the staple. In addition, this rigid scraping caused the corner radius (bends) to weaken and/or crack the wire staple.
It should be obvious that metal filings on and cracks or weakened staple legs are of particular concern and hazardous in the medical art field, where these staples are utilized on/in the human body.